Rakbar Khan's friend managed to escape, but he was beaten up till he stopped moving.
Amid anger over the killing of a man on suspicions of cow smuggling in Rajasthan, activist Tehseen Poonawalla has demanded action against the Vasundhara Raje government for failing to prevent repeated incidents of mob killings. Mr Poonawalla approached the Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear his plea on August 20 when the bench will hear other cases of mob killing.
Rakbar Khan, 28, was killed in Rajasthan's Alwar district where last year a dairy owner, Pehlu Khan, was mercilessly beaten to death by a mob that suspected him of smuggling cows for slaughter. Rakbar Khan and his friend Aslam targeted when they were seen taking home a couple of cows they had bought from a nearby village.
The men, residents of a Haryana village, were walking through a forest area when they were attacked by locals in Lallawandi village. The mob had brought sticks and stones. They kicked and rained blows. While Rakbar Khan's friend managed to escape, he was beaten up till he stopped moving.
The man, however, died in police custody. It took the police over three hours before he was taken to a hospital early on Saturday. The cops were busy arranged for vehicles to take the seized cows to a shelter, visited the police station -- a stone's throw from the hospital -- and even took a tea break during this period.
As mob lynchings continue to take place in different parts of the country, the Supreme Court has urged the parliament to bring in a separate law against lynching.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra termed the incidents of mob lynching as "horrendous acts of mobocracy" and said the incidence has to be curbed with iron hands.
Mr Poonawalla said that despite the top court directing states to protect citizens against lynching, it has again happened in Alwar.
Last week, while condemning mob lynchings in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that it's for the state governments to ensure such incidents don't happen.
Mr Singh blamed fake news and spread of rumours through social media for the menace. He said that the centre has asked social media platforms to install checks in their system to curb the issue.